Johan Wilhelm Normann Munthe

Infobox Military Person
name= Johann Wilhelm Normann Munthe
lived= 1864-1935
placeofbirth= Bergen, Norway
placeofdeath= Beijing, China


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allegiance= China
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rank= Lieutenant General
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Johann Wilhelm Normann Munthe (1864-1935) was born in Bergen, Norway. After a military education in the cavalry,he emigrated to China in 1887, where he started work as a customs officer. He enlisted in the Chinese army in the war against Japan (1895-96), and remained as a cavalry instructor under general Yuan Shikai.

Johann Munthe's association with Yuan Shikai proved advantageous, and he advanced in rank to liutenant general and advisor to the Ministry of War; according to his own words, he was the first foreigner to achieve such a prestigious position.

General Munthe was an avid collector of Chinese works of arts, and his collection includes porcelain, paintings, costumes, and statues in bronze and marble. The collection now resides with the Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum.

General Munthe was the stepfather of Sir Alexander Grantham, Governor of Hong Kong from 1947 to 1957.

External links

* [http://kinaforum.com/munthe.html kinaforum.com (in Norwegian)]
* [http://www.vk.museum.no/index.php?side=kina.inc VK]